Dragons confirm they have to pay next year

[Cerulean]

5 hours ago, Worzel said:

To be honest I’m surprised the small-minded, groupthink idiocracy of rugby league leaders and trade press editors from West Yorkshire haven’t considered making the Hull clubs pay other clubs’ petrol money too, as it’s a little too far along the M62 and we said we wanted to be in their comp so it’s only fair we cover the other teams’ extra costs of our existence.

Truly the lunatics have taken over the asylum. They’ve picked rugby league execs from the same, small gene pool for so long that it’s a bit like all the inter-breeding in the Mississippi delta in Deliverance… next thing you know your third cousin is playing the banjo and eyeing up Burt Reynolds. 
 

 

The West Yorkshire Super League clubs (and this is a Super League issue: no one else is involved) are Leeds, Hudderdsfield and Castleford. Your attribution of such extreme power to this triumvirate seems a little unbalanced, but perhaps you know things that most of us don’t know. Perhaps Leeds, Huddersfield and Castleford really do wish to conform to some perceived stereotypical behaviour in order to make the whole of Super league look inept.

Anyway, keep up your good work. You will undoubtedly find those on here who enjoy your generalisations.

[RayCee]

 

The Warriors definitely paid all travel expenses for several years and the Perth Reds too, in their brief history I believe. The NRL clubs are in much better financial health now, so travel costs aren't an issue for them. How much of an issue it is for SL clubs, I can't say. They aren't as well healed as their antipodean counterparts, but if they genuinely struggle to pay the fares, they are in a bad way. 

[Tommygilf]

8 hours ago, Liverpool Rover said:

Do Northern clubs think that Perpignan and Cornwall are hundreds of miles away while at the same time Perpignan and Cornwall are only ten miles down the road from the M62? It should be pointed out that if the Dragons and Cornwall can find the money to make the journey every other week then they can find the money for two or trips a year.

Believe me I totally agree with you, but the sport's current mentality is that of a regional league - its reflected in so much from attitudes to sponsors.

[The Future is League]

6 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Take a break old fella  

 

Yep. This is penny pinching and cannibalisation at its finest.

If only clubs and SL collectively focused their energy on generating more income instead of haemorrhaging itself, we might start seeing the sport grow.

And to think many on this forum think the NRL would be a poor replacement governor for the professional RL in Europe?

Of course you wouldn't have this problem in the AFL as there isn't a single professional or semi professional fumbleball club outside of Australia 

[ATLANTISMAN]

6 hours ago, Worzel said:

To be honest I’m surprised the small-minded, groupthink idiocracy of rugby league leaders and trade press editors from West Yorkshire haven’t considered making the Hull clubs pay other clubs’ petrol money too, as it’s a little too far along the M62 and we said we wanted to be in their comp so it’s only fair we cover the other teams’ extra costs of our existence.

Truly the lunatics have taken over the asylum. They’ve picked rugby league execs from the same, small gene pool for so long that it’s a bit like all the inter-breeding in the Mississippi delta in Deliverance… next thing you know your third cousin is playing the banjo and eyeing up Burt Reynolds. 
 

 

Don't forget to squeal like a pig

[Anita Bath]

1 minute ago, The Future is League said:

Of course you wouldn't have this problem in the AFL as there isn't a single professional or semi professional fumbleball club outside of Australia 

Perth to Melbourne is further than Auckland to Melbourne. AFL provide Perth teams with 12 business class flights for each melbourne trip and melbourne based clubs are complaining about it.

[The Future is League]

4 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

Perth to Melbourne is further than Auckland to Melbourne. AFL provide Perth teams with 12 business class flights for each melbourne trip and melbourne based clubs are complaining about it.

Knowing the way the AFL works its probably the Aussie tax payer paying for it.

[Anita Bath]

2 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Knowing the way the AFL works its probably the Aussie tax payer paying for it.

Ultimately without a doubt.  Same at National and state level.

Election coming up in Queensland and the struggling labour government tossing money away like a scotsman bout arms. 

[The Future is League]

30 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

Ultimately without a doubt.  Same at National and state level.

Election coming up in Queensland and the struggling labour government tossing money away like a scotsman bout arms. 

If only the Queensland government had money to throw away 

[Worzel]

50 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Don't forget to squeal like a pig

I’m now imagining being trapped in a meeting room with Nigel Wood, discussing the merits of a possible Batchelor’s Mushy Peas sponsorship, and then he turns around to me and whispers that… 

[The Future is League]

10 hours ago, Anita Bath said:

Are IMGs fingerprints on this?

And if a french team apply for entry to league 1?

Why stop at France. Gateshead and Cornwall are a long way from the M62. Lets charge them as well.

Oh for the days of David Oxley

Any sane club won't be applying to join league 1 unless they have an ambious suger daddy with all the hurdeles that will be put in their way, and example would be Manchester Rangers. They really could have been an asset to league 1, but the RFL in their wisdom decided otherwise.

[Worzel]

1 hour ago, Cerulean said:

The West Yorkshire Super League clubs (and this is a Super League issue: no one else is involved) are Leeds, Hudderdsfield and Castleford. Your attribution of such extreme power to this triumvirate seems a little unbalanced, but perhaps you know things that most of us don’t know. Perhaps Leeds, Huddersfield and Castleford really do wish to conform to some perceived stereotypical behaviour in order to make the whole of Super league look inept.

Anyway, keep up your good work. You will undoubtedly find those on here who enjoy your generalisations.

I didn’t mention a club. If I’d thought it was a club issue, I’d have mentioned the clubs. You’re answering a point I didn’t make. 

Take 5 minutes to reflect upon the last 2 decades’ rugby league leadership, and our continuous promotion of the next cab on the rank when his incompetent boss moves on, despite the next cab also having failed in their more junior role, all the while having their incompetence ignored by their similarly local friends in the barely-professional trade media, and you might get within a country mile of understanding the point I was making. 

[Harry Stottle]

Well guys I reckon this is confirmation that Toulouse are going to be in SL next year, so both clubs playing in the same division it would be unfair to have one club paying for away teams travel and the other not to, it was either both pay it or no one, I would guess that it is the decision of the SL Chairmen other than the Rugby League.

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Worzel said:

I didn’t mention a club. If I’d thought it was a club issue, I’d have mentioned the clubs. You’re answering a point I didn’t make. 

Take 5 minutes to reflect upon the last 2 decades’ rugby league leadership, and our continuous promotion of the next cab on the rank when his incompetent boss moves on, despite the next cab also having failed in their more junior role, all the while having their incompetence ignored by their similarly local friends in the barely-professional trade media, and you might get within a country mile of understanding the point I was making. 

Which is all the more surprising that having a policy of seemingly always promoting from within, why they are spending so much on an outside agency like IMG > 5M for the first 12 years, then an undisclosed % of any financial improvements that may have been made after that.

Edited May 26 by Harry Stottle

[Damien]

7 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Love an argument don’t you  

which expansion clubs are you referring to?

NRL expansion was as little as under two years ago. The Dolphins are not responsible for travel costs of visiting teams. Neither are Warriors, Storm, Broncos, Titans, Cowboys, Newcastle or Canberra.

So contrary to your point, I would say the NRL has a very, very, very long history of not charging travel costs to expansion clubs and certainly no history of taking that step 19 years after the expanded club was admitted to the competition.

Digression aside, we both agree the decision/actions of SL today on this matter is wrong.

Not really, it's a forum. If you don't want your posts replied to then its not the place for you.

I was talking about clubs like Perth and even the NZ Warriors at one time (as I said I don't know if that is still the case or not). Clubs in expansion areas that were expensive for clubs to travel to, I don't think we've had one admitted like that since the 1990s. Its a little facetious naming clubs in Queensland and NSW but you knew that. That's like a Hull KR or London coming into Super League and we dont/didnt charge costs for them either.

Sure the NRL may do things differently with the next proper expansion club now they are flush with cash and get government subsidies for fun. And I hope they do because as Perth saw an expansion club needs all the help they can get.

Little more to add so again happy to just agree to disagree on this.

[Mark S]

If I was Catalan Dragons I would pay for a coach trip and the cheapest ferry tickets. No charter flights or even budget airlines. 

[RigbyLuger]

9 hours ago, Hopie said:

It is what it is, but if I thought the money saved by the English clubs would be spent on something worthwhile I'd be happier about it.

Not the extra fourth-rate Aussies we'll get?

[Harry Stottle]

5 minutes ago, Mark S said:

If I was Catalan Dragons I would pay for a coach trip and the cheapest ferry tickets. No charter flights or even budget airlines. 

Good ploy, that would tire the opposition out!

[Harry Stottle]

I hope you all realise that if - and I think this confirms as I said earlier that Toulouse will be in SL next season - that with the loop fixtures we are operating if both Catalan and Toulose are in placings that are Odd or Even they will both be in the same half of the loop fixtures that could mean in 2025 up to 4 British clubs subject to making making 6 trips to France excluding any Challenge cup draws, as I said I consider this to be a decision of the SL Chairmen before there is a chance it happens to them.

[Tommygilf]

14 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I hope you all realise that if - and I think this confirms as I said earlier that Toulouse will be in SL next season - that with the loop fixtures we are operating if both Catalan and Toulose are in placings that are Odd or Even they will both be in the same half of the loop fixtures that could mean in 2025 up to 4 British clubs subject to making making 6 trips to France excluding any Challenge cup draws, as I said I consider this to be a decision of the SL Chairmen before there is a chance it happens to them.

4 clubs could make 4 trips to France (2x away fixtures each). Then it's cup and playoff considerations.

Even then, of those clubs, not all 4 would make 2 away trips because of how loop fixtures currently work?

[Gerrumonside ref]

This is only going to make Catalans more uncompetitive which is perhaps what some of the other SL clubs envisaged as their endgame anyway. 

[bobbruce]

Do we know the reasoning behind this before we criticise. Is it possible that Catalans were allowed in on a promise of getting a paying French tv deal which they said would cover costs. Not being able to get that does the responsibility now land on them. 

[Martyn Sadler]

9 hours ago, Worzel said:

To be honest I’m surprised the small-minded, groupthink idiocracy of rugby league leaders and trade press editors from West Yorkshire haven’t considered making the Hull clubs pay other clubs’ petrol money too, as it’s a little too far along the M62 and we said we wanted to be in their comp so it’s only fair we cover the other teams’ extra costs of our existence.

What on earth have you been smoking?

[Archie Gordon]

Another reason to shrink SL to 10 teams. Currently carrying too many small-timers.

[Sports Prophet]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Not really, it's a forum. If you don't want your posts replied to then its not the place for you.

I was talking about clubs like Perth and even the NZ Warriors at one time (as I said I don't know if that is still the case or not). Clubs in expansion areas that were expensive for clubs to travel to, I don't think we've had one admitted like that since the 1990s. Its a little facetious naming clubs in Queensland and NSW but you knew that. That's like a Hull KR or London coming into Super League and we dont/didnt charge costs for them either.

Sure the NRL may do things differently with the next proper expansion club now they are flush with cash and get government subsidies for fun. And I hope they do because as Perth saw an expansion club needs all the help they can get.

Little more to add so again happy to just agree to disagree on this.

Nah, you do, you love it. If there’s a chance of disagreeing with someone, you’re all over it. It’s ok, it wasn’t intended to be a slight at you. I like standing up for my opinion too. I respect and enjoy our engagements as I do with 99% on this forums. There’s plenty we don’t argue about.

In saying that… Brisbane, GC, Townsville, Melbourne, Auckland and Perth are all air destinations for the Sydney establishment and Perth incorporated travel costs into their bid to join the league. 

So the only thing I disputed and still dispute is your assertion there is a “long history” of Australian RL charging expansion clubs with travel expenses of visiting teams.

Edited May 26 by Sports Prophet